His visit to the Gulf country marked the final leg of Shin’s three-nation Middle East tour, which also included visits to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Qatar and South Korea have officially solidified their commitment to enhance bilateral defence cooperation through the signing of an initial agreement.
The accord was sealed during talks on Tuesday between Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah, who also holds the position of Minister of State for Defence, and Korea’s Defence Minister Shin Won-sik.
The memorandum of understanding outlines plans for regular defence ministerial talks and the establishment of an institutional framework for defence collaboration between the two sides, according to Shin’s ministry.
The agreement stands as a joint effort to boost cooperation in various defence sectors, with an emphasis on increasing exchanges between defence-related institutes and expanding combined drills.
Earlier on that day, Shin Won-sik spoke with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani over the phone, expressing a commitment to further developing defence ties, through which he also highlighted the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations this year
The move comes in the wake of Seoul’s strategic push to boost arms exports to the Middle East, aligning with President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Qatar in October.
During that visit, the two countries elevated their relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”
During his visit on Tuesday, Shin also attended South Korea’s football match against Jordan in the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar, which ended with a 2-0 loss for Korea.
His visit to the Gulf country marked the final leg of Shin’s three-nation Middle East tour, which also included visits to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Defence ties between the two countries is of no foreign matter as South Korea’s army dispatched five police officers specialising in counter-terrorism to Qatar to exchange security expertise as part of efforts to secure the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The officers passed on their expertise on law enforcement, security, close combat, and arrest techniques to the Qatari police until October. That instance was also set to be the first time South Korea’s military police dispatches its personnel abroad.
Meanwhile, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) suggested in October potential realms of cooperation in future energy, electric vehicles, and defence for Korea to tap into with a range of countries in the Middle East.
In 2022, Qatar played a major role economically for Korea, shipping out large quantities of natural gas that stood at $8.5 billion, crude oil at $4.89 billion, and naphtha at $2.44 billion to Korea.
The multi-billion North Field Expansion Project comes under Qatar’s LNG endeavours and is split into two parts; the North Field East (NFE) and the North Field South (NFS).
NFE is set to ramp up Qatar’s LNG production from 77 to 110 mtpa (million tonnes per annum) by 2025, as the NFS will increase the production capacity from 110 to 126 mtpa by 2026.
Overall, the project is set to boost Qatar’s LNG production by more than 63% while adding 48 mtpa to the global production.
Korea contributed by mainly exporting steel pipes which were approximately valued at $110 million and $60 million worth of automobiles to Qatar.
